Personal navigation devices such as global positioning systems in use today provide turn-by-turn directions from the current location of the device to a destination selected and input by the user. While some personal navigation devices allow the user to determine the level of prompting provided by the device, most do not allow such customization and always provide the same level of prompting for every turn along a designated route. Even the devices that allow a user to select the desired level of prompting provide the selected level of prompting for all turns, and do not have the capability to vary the level of prompting provided without further user input.
The problem with the current state of the art is that not all turns along a designated route require the same level of prompting from a personal navigation device. Some turns are simply easier to execute than others. Some turns are easily executed under certain circumstances but become difficult to execute under other circumstances such as heavy traffic or in rain. The current personal navigation devices do not have the capability to consider any of these situational factors when prompting the user of an upcoming turn.